Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee were sitting at their desks, DiNozzo reading a comic when Special Agent Ziva David arrived and noticed Tony's enthusiasm into the comic.
"Tony? Here before me? It is a miracle!" Ziva stated.
"Hey, when McGook gets limited edition copies of Batman comics, a guy can't say no to beating it's owner to reading it" Tony told Ziva.
"Yep, haven't even read it yet and now it's got DiNozzo paw prints all over it" Tim stated.
Ziva cackled.
"What's so funny?" Tony asked Ziva.
"Oh, nothing. I just find it amusing how you are acting like a two year old with their favourite toy over a mere book" Ziva told him.
"Of course you don't understand, it's a guy thing," Tony explained, "Women don't get the intensity that is Batman"
"Oh?" Ziva queried, "And what can this Batman do that I cannot?"
"Be endorsed, for starters," Tony made a witty remark, "But no matter which Batman you're talking about, be it film or comic, he can stop bad guys in the blink of an eye. Without any superpowers."
"Can he solve a murder?" Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs asked Tony wittingly as he went to his desk.
"Oh, well, that depends which Batman you're referring to, Boss.." Tony started.
"A case, Boss?" Tim interrupted, getting down to the serious business.
"Yep. Dead marine found murdered two blocks away from Washington Airport. Grab your gear" Gibbs told the team as they headed out the door.
The team arrived at the crime scene, to see that their Medical Examiner, Donald 'Ducky' Mallard and his assistant, Jimmy Palmer, had already arrived and were examining the body.
"What have you got, Duck?" Gibbs asked Ducky.
"Well, Jethro, this young man appears to have slit wrists but I would determine the cause of death to be strangulation, with a more abusive attack to his heart" Ducky told the team.
"Got a time of death?" Gibbs inquired.
"I would say he has been dead for quite some time now, Jethro. His pale skin is a sure indication of that. How he was only found just now is beyond me. Once I get him to Autopsy, I'll be able to give you a rough estimate" Ducky replied.
"Who is he?" Gibbs asked as he walked up to McGee, who was cleaning out the victim's pockets.
"Naval Officer Brian Hadden, Boss. He works for the Naval Delivery Service and according to his planner I found in his pocket, he was taking leave from his work and was scheduled for a flight to Australia five weeks ago. I looked everywhere but I couldn't find his plane ticket." McGee replied.
Meanwhile, Ziva and DiNozzo were scanning nearby the crime scene.
"Our Deliveryman takes leave to fly to Australia, and then gets murdered," Tony said, "It doesn't add up"
"Perhaps he wanted to spend his leave on a relaxing, beautiful holiday" Ziva stated.
"Not that," Tony said, "Why would he need to be murdered? The murderer could have just stolen the ticket from him and ran off to Australia. There needs to be a connection here somewhere"
"Perhaps there was a struggle and the murderer caved in to fear" Ziva replied.
"But why the effort to strangle and damage his heart? Something just doesn't seem right..." Tony said, then he began to notice something, "What's that?"
He pointed to a crack in a big oak tree, that looked like it was shining.
"Trees do not reflect last time I checked" Ziva told Tony as she put on some gloves and reached into the crack.
She pulled out a knife with a sharp tip. Tony and Ziva gave each other a glance and made their way back to the crime scene.
"Gibbs, we found something" Ziva said.
"Possible murder weapon" Tony added.
Gibbs turned towards their direction and studied the knife.
"Ah, the classic knife" Ducky stated as he noticed it.
"What do you mean by that, Duckman? Do you know something about this knife we don't?" Tony asked Ducky.
"It is the classic knife used in the art of fishing. It is usually used in chopping off the hard to cut bait, which is why it's tip is much sharper than the average knife's" Ducky responded.
The team just stared at him.
"I used to be quite the fisherman in my day" Ducky stated.
Back at NCIS Headquarters, the team were in their cubicle. They had a big screen with the victim's name and face on it.
"So, Brian Hadden, Naval Delivery Officer, thirty-four. One ex-wife. According to the records, they divorced because of parental issues. That's all we know about him." McGee said from his desk.
"Should we visit the ex-wife, Boss?" Tony asked.
"No" Gibbs said.
"No?" Ziva asked.
"No. DiNozzo, I want you to find out if he had any enemies in his department in his work area. Ziva, check Hadden's criminal records and McGee" Gibbs instructed.
"Yes, Boss?" McGee asked.
"See how Abby's doing with the knife" Gibbs said as he walked off.
In the Autopsy room, Ducky was examining Hadden's body for an exact time of death.
"You poor fellow you. Someone kills you, taking your whole holiday away from you. That was a good idea, you know? Australia. I've always wanted to go there. Wonderful weather. Not to mention, the marvelous wildlife it has to offer. It would be a wondrous experience." Ducky said.
The door to the Autopsy opened and Gibbs walked in.
"Ah, Jethro, I was expecting you," Ducky told him, "I was just telling Hadden here how wonderful a holiday Australia would have been for him. A good stress-reliever, if he needed it, mind you"
"You got a time of death, Duck?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes, sir," Jimmy said, walking over from the computer, "He was killed five weeks ago, that's the best estimate we have"
"The same time as his flight" Gibbs stated.
"Do you think it could be interwined, Jethro? Or possibly it's just coincidence?" Ducky asked.
"Rule number thirty-nine, Duck" Gibbs said as he walked out.
McGee entered Abby's Lab to some heavy rock music.
"ABBY!" He shouted, to whcih Abby turned the music down.
"McGee!" Abby stated, with her arms open.
"How are you going?" McGee asked her as he walked in.
Abby walked up to the knife which was on the table.
"Ducky was right, it is a fishing knife, used for cutting those hard bait. An average fisherman wouldn't be seen with one of these, though, because these things are for the more serious fishermen. The people who treat fishing the same way Gibbs treats his job" She explained as she turned around to the computer.
"What about the fingerprints?" McGee asked, scanning the knife up and down.
"Working on it as we speak, McGee" She answered as the computer beeped.
Abby jumped with joy.
"Got a match!" She squealed, looking at the name, "And they have a very interesting name. I love names like this because they're two names and it means technically they don't have a surname-"
"What is it, Abs?" McGee asked as he turned around towards her.
Abby turned to face McGee and with a big smile, said "Harvey. Ryan."